Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to checkpoint systems and methods and, more particularly, to systems and methods for recording or tracking information relating to checkpoints.
There are many contexts in which human interaction or a human's point of view is desired to provide a particular service or function. For example, in the context of security, it is often desirable for human security personnel to handle certain tasks and make appropriate evaluations and decisions, based on environmental or social conditions. Security personnel are often called upon or otherwise encounter situations in which human decision making and human interaction with other people is required. While security systems and processes are appropriate examples of contexts in which human interaction can be important, a human presences can be an important aspect of other types of systems and processes including, but not limited to, medical environments (in which the presence of a doctor or other medical technician may be important), teaching and counseling environments (in which the presence of a teacher or counselor may be important), research and technology development environments (in which the presence of an engineer or lab technician may be important), inventory and package tracking (in which the presence of a human to count or otherwise evaluate inventory, shipping instructions, or the like may be important).
In various systems and processes as mentioned above, it may be desirable for one or more human personnel to visit or check multiple items or locations over a period of time. For example, in the context of a security system or process, one or more designated security personnel may be assigned the task of visiting various locations to check on (or otherwise evaluate) the security and safety of those locations. A security guard may be given a route having multiple checkpoints along the route that the security guard is to visit, for example, during a preset time interval or at pre-designated times or dates.
In a similar context, a doctor or other medical personnel may arrange a route having multiple checkpoints where, at each checkpoint, the doctor or medical personnel is to see a patient and/or evaluate certain patient medical data. Similarly, in the context of research or development, an engineer or lab technician may be assigned the role of checking on the activity of certain processes or experiments (such as, but not limited to chemical reactions occurring in certain test tubes or other laboratory containers, the progress of growth of certain crystalline structures, the biological reaction of certain biological entities, or other checkpoints. Similarly, in the context of inventory or shipping, certain personnel may be assigned a list of checkpoints at which they are to count (or otherwise evaluate) inventoried items and/or to pick up or deliver items.
The above examples are just a few contexts in which checkpoints may be beneficial. To help explain aspects of the invention, various embodiments of the invention are described herein in the context of security systems and processes. However, other embodiments apply to other contexts (including, but not limited to those noted above) and need not be limited to security environments.